I have always been wondering why usually the most beautiful, talented, interesting people around me struggle to find their significant other. For most of them, it seems really challenging to open up to other people due to a lack of self-confidence, or being hurt in previous relationships and other invisible barriers.

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They feel that online dating is often disappointing and being honest with someone has never been harder. Covid-19 also made things more challenging as meeting in person became not just an emotional but a very physical hazard in itself.

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Age of Solitude is an ongoing personal portrait project in which I concentrate on my own generation’s issues with loneliness, the current dating culture and the impossibilities of the contemporary, postmodern ideas of love.

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I started working on the series last summer, focusing mainly on people in their 20s and 30s, mostly from my hometown, Budapest. Before the actual shoot we had a long interview about their stories and feelings regarding the topic. After this, I photographed them in their own intimate surroundings and asked them to write a note which could be a message for themselves, or for another person or just a reminder, a quote, or a manifesto of their feelings or these times. I photographed these notes alongside with their most personal belongings.

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As soon as travelling would not be an issue I plan to include young adults from other countries as well.

 

If you have experience you would like to share, positive or negative regarding this topic, please reach out to me via lili.gyarmati@gmail.com.